(JTA) — A statue of the late convicted sex offender Jefferey Epstein appeared in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The group responsible for the prank said it was meant as political satire, referring to Confederate monuments in public spaces.
The statue, created by painting a mannequin gold, was discovered in front of City Hall on Wednesday and removed the same day, according to local reports.
A plaque noted that Epstein had a home in New Mexico and that “He was also a rapist that died in prison.” It also included a list of court cases involving the Jewish millionaire financier, who was found dead in his New York City jail cell in August while facing sex trafficking charges for allegedly abusing dozens of minor girls.
“Generously provided to Bernalillo County by the Antlion Entertainment ‘Art’ Collective,” the plaque said.
“We think we need an Epstein statue in every school because otherwise how are students ever going to learn they even existed?” an unnamed Antlion member told told KRQE. “You know those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat it, and so if we don’t have statues of Epstein up, how can we prevent predatory behavior.”
On Thursday, the FBI arrested Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and heiress who was a close friend and confidante of Epstein, on charges that she conspired with Epstein to sexually abuse minors, the WNBC-TV in New York reported.
The six-count indictment filed in Manhattan federal court alleges that Maxwell helped Epstein train girls as young as 14 years old beginning in 1994.
